furniture, and beat both bankers and croupiers, to indemnify himself for
the loss of his money; and the worst of it was, he was at that very time
Governor of Paris. The Emperor, informed of this scandal, sent for him,
and demanded of him (he was still very angry), if he had sworn to live
and die mad. This might have been, from the sequel, taken as a
prediction; for the unfortunate general died at last in a fit of mental
aberration. He replied in such improper terms to the reprimands of the
Emperor that he was sent, perhaps in order that he might have time to
calm himself, to the army of England. It was not only in gaming-houses,
however, that the governor thus compromised his dignity; for I have heard
other stories about him of a still more shocking character, which I will
not allow myself to repeat. The truth is, General Junot prided himself
much less on respecting the proprieties than on being one of the best
pistol-shots in the army. While riding in the country, he would often
put his horse into a gallop, and with a pistol in each hand, never fail
to cut off, in passing, the heads of the ducks or chickens which he took
as his target. He could cut off a small twig from a tree at twenty-five
paces; and I have even heard it said (I am far from guaranteeing the
truth of this) that on one occasion, with the consent of the party whose
imprudence thus put his life in peril, he cut half in two the stem of a
clay pipe, hardly three inches long, which a soldier held between his
teeth.

In the first journey which Madame Bonaparte made into Italy to rejoin her
husband, she remained some time at Milan. She had at that time in her
service a 'femme de chambre' named Louise, a large and very beautiful
woman, and who showed favors, well remunerated however, to the brave
Junot. As soon as her duties were ended, Louise, far more gorgeously
attired than Madame Bonaparte, entered an elegant carriage, and rode
through the city and the principal promenades, often eclipsing the wife